The Ballad of Wolf Lin
by The Sabbit
Summary: [AU] Both dared and forbidden, Virginia enters the forbidden forest to come face-to-face with a myth both terrifying and wonderful, only to realize that he could be the answer to everything she's ever wanted... or her own destruction [TamLin-ish, i suck a


The Ballad of Wolf Lin

A/N: Don't you just hate it when you start typing something, walk away, and someone turns off your computer without saving it first? Yeah. Me too. For those of you who have ever heard The Ballad of Tam Lin, I hope your grinning and thinking 'oh, what a nifty idea!' For everyone else, you're probably like, 'where'd the 'Lin' come from?' or something equally confused. I was just thinking of the ::counts on fingers:: two similarities (.;) between the 10th Kingdom and Tam Lin, and wanted to see how it would turn out. Here's to hoping it don't flop!

Disclaimer: The Sabbit owns not the 10th Kingdom nor the ballad of Tam Lin. Nobody does, it's older than dirt and from a time before copyrights.

* * *

Virginia Lewis was always a willful girl. She rolled her eyes at superstitions the housemaids took seriously and wore her hair cut to her shoulders like a boy. She did what she felt was best, no matter what her father said. Long hair annoyed her, she cut it. Putting out bowls for the faeries and goblins every night wasted milk, so she forbade it of her housemaids.

One thing Virginia could appreciate, however, was a good dare. Or even better, a bet. One of the few traditions she honored was putting wagers into rhyme. She thought it was fun, making the betted money match the dare. And she and her best friend, Jack, were avid competitors.

Jack was Virginia very best, and some said only, friend. One of the servant's sons, they had grown up together, something else taboo which she ignored. It appalled visiting dignitaries that Lord Antony's daughter spent the days running with a peasant, wearing boy's clothes no less, instead of practicing embroidery as a young lady should. No amount of begging or grounding would change that. Not even when her father announced that by the end of the year she would be betrothed, and if she couldn't pick a suitor he would. If she had been allowed to marry Jack it might not have been so very terrible, but that was where Lord Antony put his foot down. She could not -could _not_- marry a peasant. So she refused to even consider marrying anyone else. It wasn't that they were in love, it was more that they felt that they were the only ones who would be able to stand each other for the rest of their lives.

So when she was out shopping for the newly in season fruit with Jack, and she heard the old woman warning her children to never go into the Charter's Wood, curiosity tugged at her ear until she asked the woman, "What's so bad about the Charter's Wood?"

The old woman stared at her closely, slightly surprised. "Have ye not heard, child? No young maiden goes to Carterhaugh. T'would be unwise. There's the Wee Folk living in that forest, and a guardian there as well."

Virginia looked skeptical. "Faeries? You're afraid of some Faeries?"

"Hush, hush!" shushed the old woman. "Do not speak so freely of the Little Ones, or they may come after you!"

Virginia rolled her eyes. "And why shouldn't maidens enter the forest?"

The old woman looked at her seriously. "Because none who enter the forest leave with all of what they enter wi'. The guardian, by name o' Wolf Lin, he takes the best thing he can. By Faerie standards, that is." Virginia raised an eyebrow and the woman continued. "He usually lets menfolk alone, or he'll steal their supplies in the night, but with women it be different. He'll ask for your gold rings, or your green mantles, and if ye have not these, it be your maidenhead he'll take. No lady in her proper mind'll go there."

Virginia made a face. "There's no such thing as faeries." The old woman scowled.

"Believe what ye will, but ye've been warned," she grumbled before turning and heading off with her basket of bought goods.

When Virginia turned back towards Jack, he had a gleam in his eyes. A teasing, laughing, _daring_ gleam in his eye. He thought for a moment longer, then stood straight up, folding his arms behind his back the way they'd been taught to recite things. "I'll wager," he began slowly, as Virginia grinned mischievously, "I'll wager, I'll wager with you...." he thought for a moment, "three-hundred mark and ten, a maiden gone to Carterhaugh, won't return a maid again."

Virginia tossed her head in the way she mocked the high ladies of the court. She recited without pausing, "I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager with _you_, _five-_hundred mark and ten, _I'll_ maiden go to Carterhaugh and maid return again."

Jack grinned. "You that confidant, then, huh?"

Virginia smirked right back at him in a very un-lady-like way, "I told you, I don't believe in faeries. It's a bunch of nonsense and you know it. You're just losing money"

Jack shook his head to the side in a 'we'll see' way and just continued smiling. "Well, you look enough like a boy to be mistaken for one, but people say the Fae Folk can see past looks."

"I don't believe you took that even half seriously," she teased. "I mean, what kind of name is 'Wolf Lin', anyway?"

They shared a laugh over that and continued shopping. "I'll go tonight," Virginia said decidedly. "I could use that extra five-hundred marks when Father takes me to the faire this weekend."

* * *

Virginia would have gone that night, but it rained like someone had ripped a hole in the night sky, so they put off her trip for the morning.

The next day after breakfast, Virginia excused herself when she was finished eating and walked placidly from the room in the slow, even pace she was trained to. As soon as she turned the corner where Jack was waiting, however, the two of them broke into a mad dash for her quarters, stifling their laughter as the unspoken race was run.

It was a tie. It was always a tie. They were never sure whether or not they did it on purpose, but they never even spoke of it. It was their equality, a secret level ground that they shared, even in her father's castle hold, where she was supposed to be higher than him.

Panting, they grinned at each other as she opened the door to her room. Boys weren't supposed to be here, for obvious reasons, but Virginia didn't care if it was just Jack.

"Are you going to bring anything for 'Wolf Lin'?" asked Jack with a smirk.

Virginia rolled her eyes. "No. Just to prove that I don't believe in any of it."

Jack became serious for just a moment. "Are you sure? Even if there ain't no faeries, what if it's a highwayman?"

"For forty years?" she asked. Jack blinked. "I asked a couple of the older servants if they'd ever heard of him. They say he's been guarding the forest since my family abandoned it forty years ago. No highwayman stays in the same place for that long. It's just an old myth. I'm gonna go there and prove to everyone that there's nothing to be afraid of, and then my family can reclaim the land." She faced him again, her riding clothes defiantly green, the color of the fae themselves. Jack grinned. "It'll take me an hour or so to ride there, so I should be back before supper," she continued, brushing her hair.

"Now just you wait," Jack started. "How am I to know you really went there, huh? You'll have to bring me back something special to prove it."

Virginia thought for a moment. "Roses," she said. "Roses don't bloom anywhere near this old castle, the land isn't right. But my father said that there used to be gardens and gardens of roses in Carterhaugh. I'll bring one back."

Satisfied, Jack handed her her riding shoes, and they headed down to the stables. Virginia mounted her horse easily with the pants on under her thin skirt and galloped off down the dirt road to the forbidden forest.

* * *

An hour's journey later, Virginia slowed her horse to a trot as they entered the first line of trees. Inside the forest, the sun filtered through dark and green. After a whole ten minutes, the trees thinned out just the slightest bit, and flowering bushes and groundcover filled in. Virginia had never seen so many different plants, or smelt all the varied fragrances at once. But there were no roses to be seen. Further into the woods she went, and her steed grew nervous, but Virginia went on.

Finally they reached a crumbling brick wall. Virginia stopped her horse and dismounted, tying the reins to a tree. The horse simply looked at her once, then went to grazing at the green, lush grass that was overtaking the once dirt road. Virginia walked only a short time before seeing heads of pink and deep red poking up and over-running the low wall. She was mesmerized by the thick vines, strong and green and thorny.

One bloom in particular caught her eye. It was a deep, dark, luscious red, with a bud growing off the stem to the side. Hesitantly, she reached for the double rose, then snapped the healthy stem to the side, plucking the rose from the vine. She was about to bring it to her nose to breathe it in when an annoyed voice from behind caught her by surprise.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Virginia whirled, her skirt pluming around her legs. Several feet away from her stood a young looking man with a most peeved look on his face. His dark hair fell to his ears and partly obscured his eyes, but she could see the expression on his face was obviously not happy. He wore a brightly colored maroon vest and a loose brown shirt under it.

She stared at him for a moment in shock, then stuttered, "O-oh, is-- are these flowers yours?"

"Yes," he answered impatiently. "What are you picking them for? And what are you doing here, anyway? You don't belong here."

She was just so surprised to see anyone here at all, and he had sneaked up on her. It took her a moment to think of a response. "T-This is my family's land. It belongs to my father. I have just as much right to be here as you do-- more, even!"

He shook his head petulantly. "No, not really," he scolded as her stepped closer to her, fretting over the broken flower. "Aww, see what you did? It was budding, too. Now how am I going to get seeds to plant more?"

Virginia looked around. "But there are so many other, it's just two little roses."

"Every flower matters, don't you know these flowers are counted?" He ran a hand through his hair irritably. Virginia could only stare and shake her head. What an odd, odd person. Then suddenly it clicked in her head, and she started feeling rather nervous.

"Wait a minute... You're not Wolf Lin.... are you?"

He paused in muttering to himself to answer, "Of course, who else would live out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of flowers?"

Virginia was now afraid. All the haughty confidence she had had dissipated, leaving her feeling very vulnerable out in the middle of the forest with no defenses. She began to slowly back away to where she'd left her horse, hoping he was lost back in muttering to himself. She'd just turned around to run when he said, "Where do you think you're going?"

Virginia slowly turned back around. "Someone's gotta pay for these flowers! And if you don't, then I have to, and the Queen will not be too happy."

"Pay?" she blurted, "Is that why you take gold rings and cloaks?"

"Well I'm not a collector," he said in a 'duh' tone of voice.

"Wolf Lin, if you'll let me go back--"

"_Please_ don't call me that!" he cut her off. She blinked. "'Lin' was my mother's name, and it's my middle name, but _please_, you don't need to call me that."

She blinked again. "Then, what should I call you?"

"Just, Wolf, will be fine. Now, about those roses,"

"Please, Wolf, I'll just run back to my father's castle and get you some gold, it'll only take an hour-"

"No can do, girly," he said, cutting her off again. "You're here, and these flowers need to be paid for now."

"Virginia, please," she said. She paused as he looked her over very carefully. She was starting to feel uncomfortable again.

"No jewelry... cheap clothes... and no gold, I'll guess?" he listed as he inspected her from his short distance. She shook her head silently. A slow grin spread across his handsome face as he looked her in the eye. "Well then..." he said slowly. "I'll give you a thirty second head start, just to be fair."

He didn't have to say it twice; his eyes said everything else. The look of hunger that was growing steadily was all she needed to turn and sprint towards her horse. Only problem was, the road forked. Far behind her as she knew he was, she could hear him counting as clearly as if he'd been right behind her. Quickly she picked one and continued running.

_I should've been there by now,_ she thought, but continued running blindly, the rose still clutched in her closed fist, the tiny thorns cutting into her hand, but she hardly noticed. _30_, she finished to herself, and though she couldn't hear him yet, she _felt_ him start running, could feel him getting closer, more confidant in the forest than she was. To make everything worse, the scent of the flowers seemed to be growing, overpowering her senses.

The heady scents made it harder to think, but no harder to run. But still it slowly grew around her, making her slow and dizzy. She knew that he would catch her, then. She was so scared she thought she might cry. She heard movement on the side of the road, she didn't want to look. She heard it catch up, keep running ahead of her, and then he was right there in front of her.

Too hazy to stop herself, she crashed into him, and he grabbed her by the elbows. She fought weakly, but he hardly moved. There were tears in her eyes now as she struggled, but the dizziness grew to sheer vertigo, and she felt her knees giving out. He was completely unaffected by the pollen of the flowers, and she hated him for it. He lowered her gently to the soft, soft grass, kneeling down with her.

"Now, now... it's not so bad, is it?" she heard him whisper into her ear, and the lightheadedness began to lift, but not completely. She was shaking, and the tears were on her face now, and he brought his face close to hers and brushed his lips against hers, where her tears ran onto the line of her mouth.

"I'm so.. so dizzy.." she managed to whisper, and he nodded sympathetically.

"It's the faery magic. Poor thing. I can make you feel better..." he trailed off, kissing her again, more sensually.

A wind picked up, blowing fallen leaves around them, obscuring the view of the world outside of their tryst.

* * *

Virginia sat up suddenly, gasping for air and looking all around her. She was alone on the ground, laying on the trail next to her horse. The sun she could see had moved far from where she last saw it, and she looked up to the horse as if for answers to the questions she was afraid to ask. Her clothing was all in place, and there was no one to be seen.

"A nightmare?" she wondered, still catching her breath. "I must have.. fainted or something... the flowers..."

That was when she saw the double-rose laying innocently next to her on the grass. She stared at it for a half a minute, then quickly grabbed it up, jumped onto her horse, somewhat stiffly, and immediately urged her to gallop back down the trail towards the opening in the trees, trying to get rid of the awful feeling of being watched.

She never noticed that the reins were untied, or that she was nowhere near the old stone wall.

* * *

By the time she got home, the sun was beginning to set. Jack met her out in the stable. He was pacing nervously.

"You're late," he said pointedly as she dismounted.

"I took a nap in the forest," she offered, and held out the double-rose. "To prove it."

Jack smiled at her. "I knew you could do it. See any faeries?" he asked teasingly. Virginia hesitated, but convinced herself she must have been dreaming, and shook her head.

"There's no such thing as faeries," she said thickly.

* * *

But that had nothing to do with the fact that she went back to Carterhaugh. Several times, in fact. She couldn't help it, it was as if the forest was calling her name. She never told anyone when she got ready to leave, and snuck back into the house afterward.

She was very careful not to pick any more flowers, but she sat on the rose wall and hummed, stroking the flowers until someone cleared his throat in front of her.

"You're back," he said in a surprised voice. She herself was surprised to see him, and still didn't know why she had come back. She wasn't afraid of him, though. She knew the rule, and she took care not to harm any of the flowers.

"Yeah, I guess I am," she shrugged, kicking her feet and looking down

In the months that followed, she returned again and again, always meeting him at the wall. And slowly, slowly, she felt herself looking forward to seeing him more and more. She would smile and blush when he complimented her on the smallest thing. When he said he thought he loved her, it hit her.

She loved him, too. But she didn't know why, or how, or when it even happened. By all account, she should probably hate him. But she didn't. She just couldn't. But she never told him that. She just smiled and nodded when he admitted it, being pretty good at hiding her feelings. She couldn't love him, anyway. There just wasn't a chance for them. He wasn't even human! He was a faerie... right?

* * *

Watching the girls of the court dancing, Virginia felt sick. She had no clue why she should, but she was ready to blame it on the dinner she'd just had. It had been three months since her first trip to Carterhaugh. She was getting ever closer to the time her father would arrange her wedding, and she had gotten no friendlier to the young men she was introduced to. She still insisted that she would marry Jack or no one, and her father still insisted she marry someone of equal or higher rank. They were both very stubborn.

In other words, nothing had changed.

Jack strolled up, a concerned look on his face. He wasn't the only one who noticed her recent illness, and definitely not the only one who noticed how her dresses were starting to fit rather tightly about the waist.

"Virginia, are you alright?" he asked softly. She shook her head and closed her eyes.

"If you'll excuse me, Ma'am, you look an awful lot like my momma looked when she was expecting my baby brother," said one of the servant's young daughters. She couldn't have been older than nine or ten. Virginia scowled down at her.

"That's ridiculous. I don't even talk to men, much less..." She hadn't thought of that afternoon in quite a while, but it all came back to her at once, and she paled, turning slightly green.

"'Tis true, Lady, and if you be with child, we'll be blamed," came an older knight of her father's court. His companions nodded. Virginia glared daggers at them.

Her father, Lord Antony, sitting nearby, spoke up in a shocked voice. "Virginia Janet Lewis--" he started.

"I'll tell you one thing," she cut in, remembering the glow in Wolf's eyes, "If father of my child was an earthly knight as much as he's an elfin gray, I still wouldn't marry any of any of the suitors you bring me." she said, putting her aching head in her hands.

"Miss," came a soft voice to her other side. "If what the girl says is true, you'd be in quite a bit of trouble." Virginia turned to tell the person off, but when she looked, the girl had luminescent green eyes. The color of the grass in the Charter's Wood. Virginia bit her tongue. "If I may, lady, there is an herb I know that could twine you and the babe, if need be," she said, still softly holding Virginia's eye.

Slowly, she nodded. "Where is it?" she asked in a heavy tone.

"Carterhaugh."

* * *

Jack walked her back upstairs to her quarters. She solemnly got dressed in her riding clothes, brushed her hair and got ready to leave again. But this time, she slipped a few gold rings onto her fingers. She would pay the right way this time.

* * *

She was kneeling in the grass in the Charter's Wood, the newly plucked, gray, spiky herb clutched in her hand when a voice above her asked, "You didn't learn the first time?"

Virginia looked up blankly and pulled one of the rings off her fingers and reached up to hand it to him. He didn't take it.

"What would you want with that ugly thing, anyway?" he asked, turning to pace. "Nasty stuff, bad for you. Only thing it's good for is-- But you wouldn't do that, would you?" he asked earnestly, looking down at her, stopped pacing. She noticed to herself how he fretted terribly whenever you pluck something in the forest. She didn't answer him, but stood up and walked over to the next gray plant, knelt down, pulled it up. Wolf flinched. Virginia pulled another gold ring off her finger.

"Huff puff, you can't kill our baby!" he protested. Virginia whirled on him angrily.

"You knew? You knew this whole time I was pregnant and you didn't _say_ anything?" she demanded. Wolf shrunk away from her.

"Well, yes, of course I did. Wolfs know these things," he offered nervously scratching his head, a habit Virginia thought was cute. Usually.

"_WHY?_" she demanded. "Why didn't you say anything--I _can't_ have this baby, do you know what that would _do?? _There are _laws_ about this kind of thing! I could be kicked out of my father's house for this! If I'm not married when I have this baby, it'll probably be killed anyway!"

Wolf looked horrified. He stuttered, but he couldn't think of anything to say. So much on his mind already, and now this? He whimpered softly.

"Jus-just tell me something. Were you ever human?" she asked, her arms falling to her sides.

"That's what I was going to tell you," he started softly. "You see, around forty years ago, I was still living with my parents. We were eating dinner, when a group of people from the castle came with torches... they... they caught my parents and one of my sisters and burned them outside, then torched the house. I escaped out the back door. I think one of them got caught in the house, the other two scattered in the woods somewhere like I did. I ran all night, and eventually fell asleep under an apple tree. When I woke up, I was in Faerie. The Faerie Queen had found me, and she liked me, I guess, and kept me. Ever since then I've lived in these woods, under her command. I'm really only around twenty-five years old, but I stopped aging when the Queen took me in. So I stopped counting my age."

All of this he said looking at the ground in a soft, submissive voice. Virginia was stunned. What could she say to that?

"There's more," he continued. "Tonight is All Hollow's Eve. As nice as the Faerie land is, it's got a dark side. Every seven years, they pay the Tiend. It's a kind of tax to chaos. So far, I've been lucky. But the Queen's got a new favorite knight, and I can't avoid it any longer." He looked to her imploringly.

"What can I do?" she asked, shocked and staring.

"You can _save_ me," he begged imploringly.

"Then lets _run!"_ she said, gathering up her skirts, dropping the herb.

"I can't leave the forest. Not like this. Not while she still controls me. Here's what you have to do. Tonight, they ride at Mile's Cross. They'll be riding slowly, don't worry. Go hide and wait in the bushes near the road, and let the black and brown horse go past. But when you see the white horse, run up to him and pull the rider down. That'll be me, ok? But look," he said seriously as she nodded, still gaping at the whole idea, "Tonight's a full moon. While I'm on that horse I'll be under a spell, so I won't be wild, but when you pull me down, they'll take that spell off"

"Why? What'll that do?" she asked, just now noticing how strained he seemed, so strange. He was sweating, even though Virginia had her cloak pulled tightly around her for warmth. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, too.

"Promise me you won't be scared, or change your mind," he begged. "Please, don't be afraid of me," he said again when she nodded earnestly. As she watched, he let his eyes turn out to their glowing yellow, and she noticed how long his teeth seemed at just that moment. She gasped, and would have pulled away, but he grasped her elbows and held her where she was.

_"Don't be afraid!"_ he rasped. She whimpered softly, and he closed his eyes tightly until they changed back, and he regained control. He panted slightly. The closer it got to sunset, the harder it was to control the wolf. Breathing heavily he repeated again, "Don't be afraid, it's ok," and pulled her to him. They hugged each other tightly for a moment, she willing herself to stop trembling. "It's ok, even the wolf knows that I love you, and that you've got my baby. Right? Right. You're ok.."

They stayed like that for a few moments, not talking, just holding each other. Then, Wolf continued. "When you pull me down, I'm gonna be wild. The moon'll be up, and the wolf will be out. Just hold onto me, and they won't be able to touch you. Hang onto me until morning, ok? You can do that, you're a strong girl," he whispered reassuringly. Virginia had stopped shaking, but they still held each other. "It won't even take until morning. Just a little while. They don't want me getting loose, they'll put the spell back on me, and I'll fall asleep. I know them. Problem is, you'll be under it, too. But get your cloak on me, and I'll be yours. Alright?" he paused to rock her gently. "We'll be okay. You'll do fine..."

They stayed like that until Wolf felt the Queen calling him, and the sun just began to set. They kissed for the first real, and what they both knew might be the last, time. Then Wolf took off running into the trees, and Virginia sank to her knees in the thick grass, hugging herself silently.

* * *

Night came, and Virginia settled down in the brush at Mile's Cross, her green cloak pulled tightly around her. It was midnight when she heard the jingling of bridles of the approaching horses. She tensed herself. Although she could hear them, she couldn't see them yet.

When they finally came into view, she was shocked. They were beautiful. The horses glowed, and the riders... the riders were unearthly, with masks covering parts of their faces. There was something powerfully beautiful about them, and it almost hurt her heart to look at them. Then, finally, one white horse rode into view. After pausing to make sure it was really him, she ran out to him, yelled his name once, then grabbed his arm and pulled him down from the horse.

He landed in a snarling heap on the ground, and Virginia was quick in taking off her cloak. She threw the mantle over him and jumped on him, keeping him still.

"Foolish girl!" came a furious voice, thundering like a distant waterfall, "You dare interfere! May he tear you to pieces!"

Virginia closed her eyes tight. The voice scared her, and she knew it must be the Queen. "What right do you claim over him? He has no ties to this earth! Give him back to us, let him return to the earth as the dust he will become as the Tiend."

"He's the father of my baby, and I love him!" Virginia yelled out, to herself as much as to the Fae. Just hearing the Queen made her want to obey. The Queen had power in her voice.

Wolf, hissing and snarling and growling, was her answer. She cried out as he grabbed her arms, digging his nails, now claws, into her skin. But she held onto him, and the mantle still draped his shoulders. Around them, the Fae had begun to whisper. Slowly, his thrashing calmed, and she felt her own energy begin to fade. She fell asleep before he did, the moon loaning him extra energy, and the Fae still chanted....

* * *

"Wake up! Wake _up,_ Virginia!"

Virginia was faintly aware of being shaken as she slowly regained consciousness. "Wolf?" she asked groggily, the spell taxing her more than it did Wolf, who now had all his energy back and was beyond happy.

"Virginia! Virginia wake up! It's over!" and then she was being smothered with hugs and a very happy Wolf.

She sat up slowly, helped by Wolf, and blinked into the sunlight. "Where are we again?" she wondered.

"Miles Cross, the day after Halloween, _you did it!_ I'm alive! You _saved_ me, love!!" and he was hugging her again. She hissed as he squeezed her around her arms, putting pressure on the holes in her arms. "Oh! Sorry.. Sorry about everything, I really don't even remember last night at all. That's what happens on full moons. But it's over now! We can go home and get married!"

Virginia smiled sleepily. "Well, Dad'll be happy," she murmured. Wolf nodded gleefully.

"Can't wait to meet Grandpa," he almost giggled. He was just so happy it was contagious, and Virginia hugged him back. He didn't hear her say that she loved him, did he? It didn't matter, really. He knew, and that was what mattered, as hard as it was for her to say it.

He scooped her up and brought her to her horse, lifted and helped her up, and climbed on behind her. He wasn't nearly as good a rider as she was, but the spell affected her so strongly that he felt he should at least try to ride for her so that she didn't fall off if she fell asleep again.

An hour later they reached the castle. Virginia was back to normal, the spell worn off, and more energetic than she had been in a long time. After they put her horse back into the stable, she grabbed Wolf's hand and ran with him into the castle to find Jack.

"Jack! Jack!" she yelled, running into the dinning hall, where he was tuning his lute.

"Who's this, now" he asked. "Could it be that our little Virginia's found a husband that she won't scare away?" he teased.

"Jack, meet Wolf," she announced proudly. Jack greeted him warmly, shaking his hand, and then took them to her father.

Antony was so thrilled that his daughter was in love that he didn't even ask for a rank. They arranged the wedding for the week after that, and everything went beautifully. Under the waning moon they exchanged vows, and everyone agreed that they made a beautiful couple.

Six months later, Virginia gave birth to a beautiful, healthy son. "What are you going to name him?" asked Uncle Jack.

Virginia thought for a moment, holding her son close to her, nuzzled up next to Wolf. They looked at each other for a long time, then Virginia announced. "Tam. Tam Lin Lewis."

Everyone agreed that it seemed to be a fitting name somehow. And he grew up to be a famous young man, the quarter wolf who followed in his father's footsteps.

But that, as they say, is another story.

* * *

End

* * *

Whew!! Started at 10:00, finished at 1:34 the same night! I couldn't stop, and now I'm dead tired. And hey, can you find the little bits that I took from Tam Lin, other than the basic plot? If you want to read the many versions of the original ballad, you can go to www. Tam-lin .org and check it all out.

Man, I sat here for three hours listening to "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers. Over and Over. This song r0xx0rs. Try listening to it while reading the first encounter of Wolf and Virginia. The rhythm and music fit it, but not the lyrics too much. But a bit. Yeah, it rocks.

Read and Review, please!!


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